When to Get a Pregnancy Test

After a man's sperm fertilizes a woman's egg it takes approximately 10 to 14 days for the egg to work its way down her fallopian tube, and implant itself into the wall of her uterus. Once this happens, the woman's body chemistry begins to change, and these changes can be detected in her blood and urine.

Pregnancy tests can be done on both blood and urine. A blood test is more accurate in the earliest stages of pregnancy (i.e., just after implantation, or at about the time a woman misses her first period), although she may take a urine test as well.

By the time a woman has missed 2 periods, she may be experiencing other symptoms which are alerting her to the fact that she is pregnant (e.g., nausea, enlarged or tender breasts). A urine test should confirm her pregnancy at this point.